According to informed sources, the government is currently thinking about raising the price of subsidized sugar sold at state cooperatives from LE3.50 to LE 4.50 per kilo. These sources say that prices of sugar extracted from beetroot–which will be introduced to the market next month–are relatively high, which has prompted the government to consider raising the price of sugarcane-extracted sugar so as to bring it into line with the new product.
Sugar dealer Ahmed el-Wakil warned of the risks involved in government intervention in the sugar market. "This could eventually lead to attempts to smuggle sugar into Libya, the Gaza Strip or Sudan, where sugar prices per kilo are equivalent to LE7," he said.
Hassan Kamel, president of a state-run sugar company, believes that the novel production of beetroot sugar will be enough to cover local demand until the third quarter of this year. "We will then import about 500,000 tons to cover the fourth quarter," Kamel explained.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
